Travel Alert: Pacific Northwest weather impacts flights in Portland

Wintry weather is continuing to create travel issues in Portland today. As of 11 a.m., Horizon Air has canceled 24 flights into and out of the airport due to icy conditions. There were also three cancellations into and out of Eugene and five cancellations into and out of Redmond, Oregon.

The weather has continued to evolve since Sunday with freezing rain in each of these cities. Deicing of the aircraft is required whenever there’s frozen precipitation, so cancellations in these locations were made to account for the time needed for this process.

Passengers are encouraged to check alaskaair.com or Alaska’s mobile app before heading to the airport to verify the status of their flight. A flexible travel policy is in place. Customers impacted by this weather event are able to rebook their flight online or apply for a refund online at alaskaair.com, without paying a change fee. As a result of the volume of cancellations, customers are advised to change their travel online, if possible.

10 a.m. Jan. 8 update

As of 10 a.m., Horizon has canceled 60 flights and Alaska has canceled 41 flights into and out of Portland, Eugene, and Redmond Oregon for today. The weather has continued to evolve since last night with overnight accumulations of freezing rain in each of these cities. Conditions in Seattle have improved and freezing rain is no longer expected in the forecast.

Deicing is required in Portland, Eugene, and Redmond, so cancellations in these locations were made to account for the time needed for this process.

Safety remains the top priority. Flight cancellations were determined based on the weather forecasted across the region. This proactive measure was taken to help minimize customer impact.

Passengers are encouraged to check alaskaair.com or Alaska’s mobile app before heading to the airport to verify the status of their flight. A flexible travel policy is in place, so customers impacted by this weather event are able to rebook their flight online or apply for a refund online at alaskaair.com, without paying a change fee. As a result of the volume of cancellations, customers are advised to change their travel online, if possible.

3 p.m. Jan. 7 update

Winter conditions continue to impact operations for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air in Portland and Seattle, with freezing rain expected to begin later today and continuing through tomorrow morning.

As of 2 p.m., Alaska and Horizon together have canceled 91 flights into and out of Sea-Tac and Portland for Sunday. There could be additional cancellations as a result of evolving weather, which is being closely monitored.

Reducing the number of flights allows Alaska and Horizon to focus on deicing aircraft, which is a more lengthy process when freezing rain is a factor.

A flexible travel policy is in place, so customers impacted by this weather event are able to rebook their flight online or apply for a refund online at alaskaair.com. As a result of the volume of cancellations, customers are advised to change their travel online, if possible.

4:30 p.m. Jan. 6 update

Another round of winter weather is taking aim at the Pacific Northwest, impacting Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air flight operations in Portland, Eugene and Redmond, Oregon.

Areas of north and central Oregon are predicted to be hit the hardest. Snow, sleet and freezing rain are forecast throughout the weekend, beginning Saturday, Jan. 7. Wintry conditions in Seattle could also trigger travel issues at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

In anticipation of the weather event, Horizon Air is cancelling 51 flights in and out of Portland International Airport on Saturday. Aircraft will be repositioned at other airports outside of Portland as the weather system moves through. Alaska has also cancelled 36 flights in and out of Portland on Saturday.

Impacted customers can make changes to their travel plans online here.

Leave yourself plenty of time to travel safely to the airport.

The biggest weather concern is freezing rain, which would not just impact flights, but could also make getting to the airport extremely treacherous. Proactively reducing the number of flights helps ease congestion and allows deicing operations to run more efficiently.

Passengers flying into impacted airports have the option of changing their travel plans at no additional cost for tickets purchased on or before Jan. 6. Change fees and the fare differences will be waived in the price of the ticket if the new travel is booked to or from Seattle, Portland and Eugene in the same cabin and completed on or before Jan. 15. Customers may request a refund if you choose not to travel at all. Tickets must be exchanged or refunded on or before Jan. 15.